The RotoWire G6 and Independent Social Media Power Rankings return with a Week 3 update, and the top of the board looks familiar. Per RotoWire, UMass and Western Michigan remain the two fastest-growing accounts in the group, while a handful of new names have pushed their way into the top five.
RotoWire.com's social media power rankings used follower counts from Instagram and X to build a social media hype power ranking system for each G6 and Independent program's official team accounts, ranking teams by their week-over-week percentage growth on both platforms.
UMass leads the group for a second straight update, posting 5.14% average follower growth across Instagram and X this week.
Western Michigan sits right behind at 4.95%, keeping pace with UMass atop the rankings.
New Mexico (2.73%) and Tulane (2.40%) both broke into the top five this week, a notable jump after sitting outside the group's top 15 in the previous update.
Delaware rounds out the top five at 2.18% growth, holding steady after also ranking among the group's top performers previously.
Tulsa and Kent State are tied at 2.14% growth apiece to fill out the sixth and seventh spots, while Charlotte closes out the top 15 at 1.86%.
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Why the Rankings Look This Way
UMass is 3-0, and the headline result is a 37-21 win at Rutgers on Sept. 3 that snapped a 16-game losing streak and was UMass's first win over a Power 4 opponent since 1978. A milestone win like that for a program with a long losing history is a natural driver of a follower surge.
Western Michigan's growth actually comes out of a loss: a 13-12 defeat at No. 16 Michigan on Sept. 5 that ended on a disputed last-second Hail Mary, prompting the MAC to formally request the result be overturned and WMU's own campus police department to post a tongue-in-cheek crime log about the finish. The Broncos have won twice since, over Monmouth and at Rice on Sept. 19.
New Mexico is 2-1 in Jason Eck's second season, and its most recent game, a 14-6 loss at Oklahoma on Sept. 19, was a competitive showing against Power 4 opposition that fits the modest but real growth here.
As with the Power 4 board, the top of this group shows that a milestone win (UMass), a viral, controversial finish (Western Michigan) or simply a respectable showing against Power 4 competition (New Mexico) can drive real growth on its own.
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FAQ
Q: Which G6 or Independent college football team dominated social media growth over the past week?
A: UMass leads the group for a second straight update, posting 5.14% average follower growth across Instagram and X this week.
